The Spartans had just come off a Big Ten conference tournament victory and there was conjecture they could win the NCAA Tournament, too.

So what went wrong? That’s the million-dollar question, and Michigan State’s head coach doesn’t have an answer.

Izzo called it one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.

But he wanted to make one thing very clear: His team did not overlook Middle Tennessee. It was just one of those games, he said.

“My love and admiration and respect for those players will never wane one inch,” Izzo said. “If you would have told me that we were going to lose that game, I would have said, ‘No.’ If you would have told me we were going to shoot 55 and 46 from the three, I would have said, ‘We’ll win easy.’”

He continued, “That’s why it’s March Madness; that’s why there’s upsets; that’s why we all pay attention. And if you ask me what would I do next year to make sure that doesn’t happen again, I couldn’t give you an answer.”